Luke Parsons QC

Luke is a Commercial and Admiralty silk whose practice encompasses insurance and reinsurance, international trade, energy, sale of goods, banking, commercial contracts, and shipping. Shipping Silk of the Year at the Legal 500 Awards 2018 and Chambers UK Bar Awards, 2014, Luke is ranked by Chambers UK. Legal 500 UK, Chambers Global and the Legal 500 Asia Pacific legal directories. He has been described by the directories as: “"...Luke Parsons is exceptional. He is very commercially minded and will go the extra mile." Chambers UK 2018 and “"...he's charming but at the same time incisive. He really drills down to the bottom of points...”; "...exceptionally bright and very good on his feet. He is a master of getting the tone and the content of his delivery just right no matter the audience..." Chambers UK 2017.

Luke is often called in to handle the highest value, most complex claims, involving coordinating large teams of experts and has acted on many precedent-setting cases in the High Court, and Court of Appeal.

Given the frequently international dimension of his practice, Luke has extensive experience in dealing with foreign law and multi-jurisdictional disputes. In particular he frequently acts in arbitrations with a cross-border element and is experienced in making applications to the High Court in support of English arbitrations and also in support of foreign arbitrations in the English courts and advises on the enforcement of awards under the New York Convention.

Before coming to the Bar, Luke worked with a firm of international Lloyd’s brokers and then with a multi-national underwriting company. This experience in the London and International Markets assists with his practical and commercial approach to disputes whilst maintaining the intellectual rigour for which he is well-known.

What the directories say

"One of the best out-of-the-box thinkers at the Bar, he leaves no stone unturned"

Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2019

"A real-life Perry Mason as a cross-examiner"

(Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2019)

‘Has a brilliant mind combined with an engaging personality and has the ability to find out-of-the-box solutions to the most complex legal issues.’

(Legal 500 2019)

‘A go-to silk on matters of marine insurance, his breadth of knowledge and ability to grasp complex issues in developing areas is simply outstanding.’

(Legal 500 2019)

‘A very able and experienced arbitrator – knowledgeable and easy to work with.’

Luke represents clients before a wide range of Tribunals including commercial arbitrations, the Commercial Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. As well as trial and advisory work, Luke is also frequently instructed to appear before the Commercial Court on pre-emptive strike applications with a particular emphasis on freezing orders and anti-suit injunctions. Illustrative cases include:

Engelhart CTP (US) LLC v Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 For The 2014 Year Of Account & 6 Others - $4 billion commodities insurance dispute concerning futures and hedging and the need for goods to be physically within a warehouse to be able to insure them.

Natixis SA v Marex Financial Limited & Ors - Commercial Court claim acting for the Defendant underwriters in this US$35 million High Court Claim concerning allegedly fraudulent receipts for nickel stored at warehouses in Singapore. The case is one of series of ongoing cases concerning international metals trading fraud and fraud operating on the sale and exchange of warehouse receipts.

Shagang Shipping v HNA Airlines [2016] EWHC 1103 (Comm) - a case which involves alleged bribery, contractual arguments, allegations of torture by Chinese authorities and legal questions regarding accelerated receipt, all of which have been dealt with for the first time in detail by the UK Commercial Court.

Berezovsky & Anor v Edminston & Company [2011] EWCA 431 - successfully appearing for Mr Berezovsky in the Court of Appeal in the brokerage dispute arising out of the sale of his US$300 million superyacht;

Luke has a strong reputation in the field of energy and natural resources and off and on shore construction. He has been instructed on behalf of employers, contractors, insurers and consortiums of international energy companies in relation to a wide range of disputes including those arising from the termination of EPC Contracts. He has extensive experience in arbitrations involving the construction and maintenance of oil rigs, exploration platforms, floating storage platforms and pipelines.

Illustrative cases include:

Petrosaudi Oil Services v Novol Banco & Other [2017] EWCA Civ 9 - acting for Venezuelan State company in respect of a drilling contract. Prevented payment of $130 million under a standby letter of credit by successfully revoking thefraud exception. Court of Appeal reaffirmed the autonomy of a letter of credit, and its independence from the underlyingtransaction to which it stood as security.

Patrick Kelly v. Timan Oil & Gas. Acting for Patrick Kelly on this dispute in the Chancery Division regarding a minority shareholders right in forced takeover of substantial oil exploration company in Kazakhstan.

Commercial Court claim for €300m in respect of sums payable under a contract for repair and upgrade works to an FPSO: complex technical dispute on scope and quality of works;

A dispute on the construction and delivery of floating oil production platform, involving design, construction, project planning and quality assurance issues together with complex accountancy evidence on loss of profits;

ICC arbitration on behalf of the owners of a national oil refinery and pipeline regarding claims of force majeure following infiltration of Al Qaeda into the country: issues involving security and terrorism expertise; and

Acted for Exxon in the £1 billion insurance claim arising out of the "Exxon Valdez" spill.

Arbitrator in US$350 million gas purchase ICC arbitration.

Arbitrator in SIAC arbitration - US$180 million claim for payments for oil.

The majority of Luke’s arbitration practice has an international element. He is regularly instructed in arbitrations with a cross-border element and is experienced in making applications to the High Court in support of English arbitrations and also in support of foreign arbitrations in the English courts. He has sat as arbitrator in Singapore SIAC arbitrations and appeared in arbitration proceedings in Tokyo. Luke also has extensive experience in challenging arbitration awards in the English Courts and advises on the enforcement of awards under the New York Convention.

Luke also acts as an arbitrator and was appointed as an arbitrator in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre - the arbitration concerned an oil exploration dispute and consideration of the effect of sanctions against Iran and how it impacted on obligations to explore for oil. He has also acted as party arbitrator in ICC arbitration on case involving motorway construction in Poland.

Luke has also been involved in some of the leading cases concerning the Arbitration Act 1996, especially where those cases have an international element. Illustrative cases include:

W Ltd v M Sdn Bhd [2016] EWHC 422 (Comm). Luke successfully (leading Caroline Pounds) resisted a s. 68 challenge to an arbitration award on the grounds of alleged apparent bias on the part of the arbitrator, notwithstanding that the conflict in question fell within the Non-Waivable Red List of the IBA Guidelines.

LMAA Arbitration: Acting for Owners in an arbitration involving the total loss of the "Bulk Jupiter" at sea due to suspected liquefaction of a cargo of bauxite. Listed for 3-week trial in 2016.

E D and F Man Sugar Ltd v Unicargo Transportgesellschaft GmbH [2013] EWCA Civ 1449: The leading case in Court of Appeal on remission of awards for further findings of fact.

LCIA arbitration involving a joint venture between Asian and American companies for the development of new oil and gas fields in Iraq.

Itochu Corporation v Johann MK Blumenthal GmbH & Co & Ors [2012] Civ 999: Leading case on the interpretation of default provision on appointment of an arbitrator and the power of the Court of Appeal to review Commercial Court decisions.

Tomac Arbitration: Appearing before arbitrators in Toyko on large multi-million dollar contractual dispute.

Luke is extensively instructed in cases concerning dry shipping and commodities and has appeared in many of the leading cases in the field. He has a wealth of experience in dealing with disputes under Charterparties, Contracts of Affreightment and Bills of Lading as well as in connection with disputes concerning the GAFTA, FOSFA and other commodities standard forms. Luke was named Shipping Silk of the Year 2017 at the Legal 500 Bar Awards.

Illustrative cases include:

MV ZAGORA [2017] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 194 - dispute arising about liability under a letter of indemnity provide for the discharge of
cargo without production of a bill of lading.

Borco v Phillips 66: ‘Cape Bari’ [2016] UKPC 20; [2016] Lloyd’s Rep Plus 69 - case involves an oil tanker, the Cape Bari, which was in the Grand Bahamas and crashed into and substantially demolished the main jetty. The issues centre on contracting out of the right to limit liability under the Limitation Convention. The case is currently before the Privy Council and will be the leading case on contracting out of the international limitation tonnage convention.

Shagang Shipping v HNA Airlines [2016] EWHC 1103 (Comm) involves alleged bribery, contractual arguments, allegations of torture by Chinese authorities and legal questions regarding accelerated receipt, all of which have been dealt with for the first time in detail by the UK Commercial Court.

Luke has extensive experience in ship sale and ship building disputes. Over a number of years he has acted for both Far East shipyards and shipowners in numerous high value arbitration claims in respect of shipbuilding and ship conversion disputes raising complex legal, factual and technical issues.

He was involved in London's longest running ship building arbitration covering issues such as project management, computer aided design, quality control and assurance and state of the art computer project modelling.

Star Polaris LLC v HHIC-PHIL INC [2016] EWHC 2941 (Comm) - leading case on exclusion clauses for consequential loss in contracts. This decision is of significant importance in the shipbuilding industry, since it could define the obligations of Builders after delivery and limit the Builder’s exposure to warranty claims more generally.

Patrick Kelly v. Timan Oil & Gas. Acting in the Chancery Division for minority shareholders in a forced takeover of a substantial oil exploration company in Kazakhstan.

An LCIA Arbitrationinvolving a joint venture dispute between Asian and American Companies for development of new oil fields in Iraq.

Luke has practical experience of the London and International market gained from his experience working in the insurance field before coming to the bar, firstly with a firm of international Lloyds' brokers and thereafter with a multi-national underwriting company. He has a broad insurance practice and has acted on a number of complex and high-profile matters. Examples of illustrative cases include:

Engelhart CTP (US) LLC v Lloyd' Syndicate 1221 For The 2014 Year Of Accoun & 6 Others - $4 billion commodities insurance dispute concerning futures and hedging and the need for goods to be physically within a warehouse to be able to insure them.

Natixis SA v Marex Financial Limited & Ors - Commercial Court claim acting for the Defendant underwriters in this US$35 million High Court Claim concerning allegedly fraudulent receipts for nickel stored at warehouses in Singapore. The case is one of series of ongoing cases concerning international metals trading fraud and fraud operating on the sale and exchange of warehouse receipts.

Acting for Exxon in the £1 billion insurance claim arising out of the "Exxon Valdez" spill and for P&O in the insurance claim relating to the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.

Luke is extensively instructed in cases concerning commodities and has a wealth of experience in disputes concerning the GAFTA, FOSFA and other commodities standard forms. He has appeared in many of the leading cases in the field including:

Engelhart CTP (US) LLC v Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 For The 2014 Year Of Account & 6 Others - $4 billion commodities insurance dispute concerning futures and hedging and the need for goods to be physically within a warehouse to be able to insure them.

Natixis SA v Marex Financial Limited & Ors - Commercial Court claim acting for the Defendant underwriters in this US$35 million High Court Claim concerning allegedly fraudulent receipts for nickel stored at warehouses in Singapore. The case is one of series of ongoing cases concerning international metals trading fraud and fraud operating on the sale and exchange of warehouse receipts.

ED and F Man Sugar Ltd v Unicargi Transportgeselschaft GmbH [2013] EWCA 1449 a case that related to a Court of Appeal decision on jurisdiction to remit an arbitration award for further findings of fact and concerned a clause in a charterparty (the Sugar Charter Party 1999 Form).

Luke is instructed in a wide range of disputes relating to banking and finance (including asset finance) and appears before arbitration tribunals, the High Court and appellate courts in cases concerning a variety of financial instruments.

Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oterreich AG v. China Marine Bunker (Petrochina) Co Ltd [2008] 1 Lloyd's Rep. Plus 18 (Comm. Ct). An application in the Commercial Court concerning the proper construction of an irrevocable payment undertakings in the international oil trade and the application of the doctrine of consideration to banking obligations.

Anton Durbeck GmbH v. Den Norske Bank ASA [2006] 1 Lloyd's Rep. 93 (Comm. Ct). Acting for the Bank in resisting a claim for wrongful interference with goods by cargo interests against the Bank seeking to enforce its mortgage over the vessel under either Panamanian or English law.

Den Norske Bank ASA v. Acemex Management Company Ltd [2004] 1 Lloyd's Rep. 1 (CA) and [2003] EWHC 326 (Comm). Acting for the Bank in the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal in a successful application for under guarantee and indemnity.

Luke was leading Counsel to the Nimrod Review into the loss of the Nimrod MR2 aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan on 2nd September 2006. The Review's terms of reference require consideration of large volumes of technical aeronautical evidence and examining numerous expert witnesses.

Arbitrations include US$300 million aviation reinsurance dispute concerning total loss of a fleet of aircraft due to foreclosure action.

Before coming to the Bar, Luke Parsons QC worked with a firm of international Lloyd’s brokers and then with a multi-national underwriting company on Hull & Machinery. This experience in the London and International Markets assures his clients of a practical and commercial approach to their disputes.

Publications

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